[IRCA] 2013 Convention Report.

[Vincent Ferme <dxista@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

Arrived home 9 hours after leaving the hotel. Only about 2:15 minutes in 
the air. Transfer to/from the airport, a couple of hours for airport 
security, waiting for connecting flights, it all adds up. It must be 
punishment for redeeming miles. :^) Who said air travel is fun??!!
But it was worth it!!

A BIG thank you to all the organizers. I'll mention two names only, 
because they are the ones I remember. Master of Ceremonies Mark 
Durenberger and Registrar/Hospitality Suite Manager Skip Dabelstein.
Another BIG thank you to Peter Reiter for the rides to/from the Pavek 
Museum and to/from the WCCO transmitter site. A fine gentleman.
The theme of the convention was Learning and Sharing. While I did not 
have a lot to share, I sure learned a lot.
However, the best part for me was linking faces to names. I have 
followed the dxing exploits of some of attendees for years and to 
finally meet them in person was great.
John Callarman said it best, what counts/matters in the end are the 
wonderful memories one takes home from events like this.
The presentations were excellent. The highlights for me:

Nick Hall-Patch's DX Fish Barrel is a great tool. I hope I convinced him 
to try and port the software to work with the cheap RTL SDR. :)
Kaz's Chasing Sunset Skip was very informative. Pity the sunset maps 
have not been updated in a while. :^))) It's a convention inside joke.
Nigel Pimblett showed us Don Moman's antenna farm. My jaw still drops 
when I think about it.
Kaz's Advancements in MW Antennas made me think about buying some land 
outside of the city. Postage size backyards are a major limiting factor 
in MW dxing.
The auction was a lot of fun too. Phil Bytheway, the auctioneer, managed 
to get us to spend some money and laugh while doing it.
I wonder if Paul Swearingen succeeded in loading all his auction wins in 
his car. :)
I noticed that a number of MW dxers have radio voices too. I wonder how 
many are in the business. I think Mike Lantz is. Wally Wawro, if not in 
the business already, should consider. :)
Thank you Wayne Heinen for thinking of us here in the Great White North. 
Wayne had a few advance copies of the new edition of the pattern book, 
and knowing that postage costs can add quite a bit to the final price, 
gave us first "rights of refusal" on them.
I could not believe how good a memory Scott Fybush and others have. I 
have a hard time remembering the call letters of my locals. They 
remember not only the current but past call letters, power, patterns, 
locations and etc.
My final mark in The Great DX Quiz was embarrassing to say the least.

Good to meet my DXN "boss" David Yocis. We tried to connect in Ottawa 
some weeks ago but it was not possible.
There was a lot more, but this is getting too long.

The hotel was good, friendly staff. The complimentary airport shuttle is 
a great thing for those of us flying in.
The one final comment from me is about the joint convention format. I 
hope this serves as a template for future conventions. It was the 
deciding factor for me to attend this year's convention.
Thank you all for the memories.

Regards,

Vincent Ferme
Ottawa, ON, Canada
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